George Michael once said the reason behind the demise of his ’80s band Wham! was his sexuality and his fear of coming out as gay.
Before his death, the star sat down for a candid interview, which will feature in the upcoming Netflix documentary Wham! “In reality, the turning point of Wham! was nothing to do with Wham!,” the late singer shared, per Page Six.
“The turning point of Wham! was me as I suddenly thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m a massive star and I’m gay,’ and the depression was about that,” he continued, “about the way I’d boxed myself in.”
READ MORE: British sitcom legend dies at her home
READ MORE: John Goodman’s red carpet arrival after health journey
Michael formed the band with his childhood friend Andrew Ridgeley, and found massive success before the age of 20. The upcoming documentary explores the formation of the British duo, and how they each handled their fame.
In the same interview, Michael spoke about the moment, at age 19, when he realised he wasn’t straight.
“I had stayed over at this guy’s house,” he said. “He’d tried to have sex with me but I’d been too scared, but I realised I wanted to stay in the bed for the night. I realised I wanted to be close to this guy, which had never happened before.”
READ MORE: Horrifying moment fan pelts pop star in the face with phone
He actually went and told Ridgeley immediately, who was supportive but also advised Michael against coming out to his conservative Greek parents.
“That is a pivotal moment,” Michael said. “At that point in time, I really did want to come out, and then I lost my nerve completely.”
READ MORE: Meghan accused of ‘faking’ interviews after $29m axing
The more popular that Wham! the band became, the more Michael says he felt he had to retreat into the closet.
“I had this little voice inside going, ‘What am I going to do?'” he recalled. “I was intelligent enough to know that this was the wrong road if I was looking for happiness. I should not be trying to catch up with Michael Jackson or Madonna, which is what I was absolutely intent on doing. I wanted to be able to develop as a human being but I felt trapped.”
READ MORE: Tom Brady’s emotional message after divorce
The star, who went on to become one of the most successful music acts of all time, admitted that he “was too young and too immature to know that I was sacrificing as much as I was”.
Michael came out as gay publicly in 1998, over a decade after Wham! played their last gig at Wembley Stadium in June 1986. In a TV interview with CNN, Michael said “I don’t feel any shame whatsoever” about his sexuality.
“I spent the first half of my career being accused of being gay when I hadn’t had anything like a gay relationship. In fact, I was 27 before that happened to me,” he added.
“I want to say that I have no problem with people knowing that I’m in a relationship with a man right now.”
The singer died from heart disease on Christmas Day in 2016 at the age of 53.
Nine Entertainment Co (the publisher of this website) owns and operates the streaming service Stan.
These girls grew up to be the world’s most in-demand models
